A large proportion of millennials entered the job market at a time when financial markets were extremely volatile. Not surprisingly, many studies across the globe find that the generation has grown wary of stock markets. In India, too, millennials appear to be wary of the stock markets, data from a recent survey conducted jointly by the Indian arm of global market survey firm YouGov and Mint shows.
Yet, a closer examination of data suggests it is affluence rather than age that explains the differences in investment patterns among different age-groups or cohorts. The YouGov-Mint Millennial Survey conducted in July this year shows that one-third of working millennials put their money only in risk-free instruments, such as fixed and recurring deposits, without investing anything in equities.